1963 Topps #303 Earl Francis
About Earl Francis
Murtaugh handed Francis the ball for the 1963 opener at Cincinnati on April 8, making him the first African-American Opening Day starting pitcher in Pirates history, and the day doubled as Pete Rose's major league debut. Rose drew a walk off him and scored, Francis came out for a pinch-hitter after two innings and took the 5-2 loss. Arm and elbow trouble dogged him from there; shuttling between the rotation and the bullpen, he went 4-6 with a 4.53 ERA in 97 1/3 innings across 33 games. Card #303 belongs to the fourth series, a plain mid-run number.
Earl Coleman Francis, born July 14, 1935 in Slab Fork, West Virginia, was a right-handed pitcher who spent parts of six seasons in the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals between 1960 and 1965. Signed by the Pirates in 1954 out of American Legion ball, he pitched one season in Class D, then served a four-year hitch in the U.S. Air Force, leading Bolling Air Force Base to the service's world title in 1958, before returning to the Pirates system in 1959. He debuted in Pittsburgh on June 30, 1960 and was on the club's World Series championship roster that fall without appearing in the Series. Standing 6-foot-2 and built like a football player, Francis drew praise from manager Danny Murtaugh for having the best fastball and curve on the staff, but recurring arm and shoulder trouble kept him from sustaining that promise. He finished with a 16-23 record, a 3.77 ERA and 263 strikeouts in 103 games and 405 2/3 innings, pitched his last big league game on September 27, 1965, and left organized baseball after the 1966 season. He settled in the Pittsburgh area, worked as a meatcutter, and died there in 2002 at age 66.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 183 | 2 | 18 | 73 | 58 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-09-24. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8), and PSA's qualified grades are counted separately from the straight-grade rows shown here.
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Related cards
Team card: #151 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
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- #34 Dick Schofield
- #55 Bill Virdon
- #87 Bob Veale
- #101 Joe Gibbon
- #122 Julio Gotay
- #159 Jim Pagliaroni
- #169 1963 Rookie Stars
- #184 Vern Law
- #215 Bob Skinner
- #228 1963 Rookie Stars
- #239 Harvey Haddix
- #259 Johnny Logan
- #281 Tom Sturdivant
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #303 card?
It is card #303 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Earl Francis of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
How many cards are in the 1963 Topps Baseball set?
576 cards, tracked as 583 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 576 with no gaps and no number used twice, and seven cards carry a catalogued print variation - three checklists, the two Rookie Stars cards also printed with a "1962" heading, and the #341 Jack Baldschun and #454 Art Fowler print states - that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, The Topps Archives, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-03.